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BORJANA MIKIC, PH.D.
Associate Professor of Engineering
Borjana Mikic is a mechanical engineer by training,
whose area of expertise lies in the field of Orthopaedic Biomechanics. Her research
focuses on identifying the key factors which influence the establishment, maintenance,
and restoration of biomechanical function in the skeletal connective tissues. She
is particularly interested in the role of a family of growth factors known as the
growth and differentiation factors, as well as the influence of mechanical loading
environment on the skeletal system.
 A
graduate of Stanford University, Mikic received her B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from the
Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her post-doctoral work was performed at the
Maurice Mueller Institute for Biomechanics in Bern, Switzerland, where she delved
into the world of molecular and developmental biology. She continues to collaborate
extensively with her colleagues from Switzerland and Stanford on numerous projects
which combine her interests in both biology and engineering as applied to the skeletal
system.
In addition to her technical research, Mikic has very
strong interests in the areas of undergraduate engineering education, gender, science
and technology, and the history of science and technology. Her decision to join the
faculty of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College was rooted in a strong
desire to help create a new model for undergraduate engineering science education
in which elements of the liberal arts are uniquely integrated into a rigorous engineering
curriculum.
Prior to her arrival at Smith, Mikic was on the faculty
in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University
of Virginia. She has served as a reviewer for the National Institutes of Health as
well as the National Science Foundation, and maintains a personal goal of working
to increase the representation of women and other minority groups in the sciences
and engineering. |
